Mixed Migration Flows in the Mediterranean – IOM Compilation of Available Data and Information (August 2019)

A total of 66,268 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe through different land and sea routes between January and August 2019, 24 per cent less than the same period last year when 87,611 sea and land arrivals were reported, 50 per cent less than the 133,390 arrivals registered in this period of 2017 and 78 per cent less than the 296,512 registered during this period in 2016.

Sixty per cent of all arrivals were registered via the Eastern Mediterranean route in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Greece. Another 29 per cent of individuals have arrived in Europe through the Western Mediterranean route leading to Spain, and the remaining 11 per cent crossed the Central Mediterranean and arrived by sea in Italy and Malta. This indicates that the Eastern Mediterranean route continues to surpass both the Western and the Central Mediterranean routes as the main route taken by the migrants and refugees arriving to Europe between January and August 2019.

In the same period last year, there was a much smaller difference in the proportion of arrivals between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean routes. On the Western route 33,912 arrivals were registered (39%), and on the Eastern route 32,908 arrivals were registered (38%). On the Central route 20,791 arrivals were registered (23%).